


The wedding date

by ClaraCivry (Kat_Of_Dresden)



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-03-02
Packaged: 2018-05-22 16:53:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6087367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat_Of_Dresden/pseuds/ClaraCivry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raven needs a date for Octavia and Lincoln's wedding. Murphy is suggested. They get along strangely well and people are worried for Raven's sanity. Also, Murphy is very uncomfortable in a suit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Raven, Monty, Bellamy, Harper and Monroe were having some beers in a bar and discussing Octavia and Lincoln's impending wedding. It was going to be a huge party, with lots of guests in both sides, even if the couple that was getting married wasn't a very exuberant one. Lincoln's had a lot of family and Octavia had a lot of friends.

"I'm just gonna be so bored on the singles table with Lincoln's weird relatives and workout buddies. I wanna be with you guys." Raven complained. 

"You'd be with us if you brought a date." Monroe said, because she knew how it worked. "I'm bringing Harper who was invited anyways, but this way neither of us has to go the singles table."

Harper nodded and sipped her beer. She really could have convinced someone to come with her, but what the hell, Monroe was going to be more fun.

"Yeah, you could ask a friend... someone who is not already bringing a date."

"I guess I could ask Wick, but I don't want him to get any ideas. That's over. Don't you have anyone available? Someone nice and unattached, just for one night." Raven looked around. 

Bellamy, Harper and Monroe were all cops who worked together, so there wasn't going to be a lot of variety in their suggestions, but between them and Monty they should be able to find someone. 

"Monty, are you bringing Miller?" Raven asked, and Monty nodded. So they were both out. "What about Jasper?" 

"He's going with Maya."

Raven grimaced. All the decent people were paired up, apparently. 

"Guys? Any cop friend who has recently broken up with their partner and needs a party?"

There was a shared look between them and they shook their heads. 

"We're in a season of a lot of wedding and births and things like that." Harper said, and then suddenly her face changed. "But, there's this P.I....."

"Who?" Monroe asked. "Murphy?"

Harper nodded fervently. 

"He looks kinda lonely. I'm sure he could use some partying."

"You wanna set Raven up with Murphy?" Bellamy asked, horrified. “Has she done something bad to you?”

"Why not?"

"Bellamy's face suggests he's not very nice."

"Nah, nice is not a word that describes Murphy. Or pleasant. Or sociable." Harper admitted.

"Is he funny at least?"

"If you like sarcasm." 

Raven liked sarcasm.

"I do. Is he hot?"

"Yes!" "No!"

Obviously, opinions were split on whether he was hot or not. Raven didn't know if that was a good sign or a bad one. She didn't need a Hollywood star, but yes someone who she put in Finn's face. Someone hotter than him would be preferred. 

"It's a matter of perspective. He's not traditionally good-looking but.... he has something." 

Monroe didn't agree with her friend.

"If you're into huge eyes and abnormally white skin."

Bellamy had other concerns.

"I don't know... Can we trust Murphy to be civil with everyone and not hit anyone?" Bellamy asked. Yes, Murphy had been more than decent lately, and had helped around quite a lot, but he couldn't forget that he used to be a criminal.

"Now I'm interested." Raven said. She wanted someone as different from Finn as possible, someone brutally honest, someone who would feel like she was out of his league. This man sounded promising. "What's the story?"

"He used to be a second rate bully for a gang, as a kid. Real nasty, shoot first ask questions later kinda guy, didn't allow insults. But his gang blamed him of a death that turned out wasn't even him, beat him up and left him to die. So a rival gang who took him at his lowest and tortured him for information." Bellamy started.

"That's messed up. Go on."

"It is. So Murphy found himself alone, and bitter with everyone he knew. He started helping us out, for protection or because he had nothing better to do, I don't know. The force wouldn't really be a place for him, 'cos too many people distrusted him because of his past which is why he got his license, and he's a bit of a freelancer now."

"Helped us out to get evidence to lock up Jaha." Monroe added. 

"Yeah, that he did." Bellamy didn't seem convinced, still. 

“He also tried to kill Bellamy. Saved his life a while later though. He's a.... difficult guy.” Monroe continued.

“Maybe you could could meet for coffee or something, see if you guys like each other, and would tolerate each other for a whole evening.” Harper proposed. 

“Sounds like a plan.”

_______ 

Raven didn't have high expectations for this guy. Bellamy and Monroe had talked him down so much that if he simply didn't kill anyone while they had coffee, it would go better than expected. Murphy was punctual, dressed all in black, leather jacket and Doc Martens. She was glad she hadn't dressed up for this, then. He was not exactly good looking, but he wasn't bad looking, either. He had very striking features, nice dark hair, and as warned, huge-ass eyes. 

Murphy was uncomfortable. This woman seemed so much better than him in every aspect. Better looking, more intelligent, more confident, a better person in general. Why would she willingly spend time with a low-life like him? What was the trick? He mentally readied himself for another bitter rejection. Maybe she'd only last minutes with him. He sighed.

“You must be Raven.”

“I am.”

“I'm Murphy.”

“You don't look like a P.I.”

“Yeah, left my trench coat and magnifying glass at home, sorry to disappoint.”

Her friends hadn't been wrong about the sarcasm. It kind of suited him. 

“So, where are we going?”

Murphy made a fake bow. 

“Ladies choice.”

“No, I'm bored with my places and I don't want to see any familiar faces. Where do you go when you wanna be left alone?”

Murphy thought about it for a bit. Did he really want to show his hideouts to this stranger?

Well, who cared. She probably wasn't going to go back anyways.

“Do you have anything against heavy metal?” He asked.

“I do not.”

“Then follow me.”

Murphy took her to a tiny place close to an abandoned cinema, something called Hell's bells. Black and grey place, decorated only with guitars and pictures of concerts. It was a genre that she enjoyed, but didn't have a lot of time or people to enjoy with. Positive point. 

“Nice place. Quiet, but at the same time loud as fuck.”

Murphy half smiled (he did that a lot, it would seem, Raven wondered if he remembered how to smile fully. There was something really sad about his eyes) and ordered two beers. Raven didn't know want kind of beer it was, but it was bitter and strong- a change from the soft light stuff she was used to. 

“Nice beer.”

“You look like a no-nonsense kind of person, so I got you a no-nonsense beer." Maybe it was a bold move, but Murphy had always been bold. "So, you've seen my hideout and drank my beer, but I still don't know anything 'bout you, Raven Reyes. How can a woman like you not have a date for a wedding?”

“Bad taste in men, I guess.”

“Yeah, spending time with me – horrible taste indeed.”

Raven smiled a bit and continued. At least till that moment, she felt comfortable with Mr. Sarcastic.

“I was with a guy for a very loooong time. The idiot cheated on me but somehow maintained his “good guy” reputation. Sucked very much. Made it hard to trust anyone else. ”

“How dare he.”

“I know, right? And apparently, all my friends are taken already. Not that there's many of them.”

There was a silence and Murphy took a sip of his beer. He wished he was better at this small talk, that he was able to come up with interesting things to say. But he just wasn't. Better to deflect the attention from himself then. 

“Bellamy tells me you're a mechanic.”

“Airplanes, drones. If it's big and flies, I probably can build it and take it apart with a couple of wrenches.”

“Impressive.”

So he wasn't the most talkative guy. So he was a bit awkward with women. He still didn't seem as terrible as her friends had warned her. Maybe she could ask something about him.

“What happened to your neck?” She asked, noticing some horizontal lines on it. “Bad day at limbo?”

His face hardened. 

“That's none of your damn business.” Murphy said on a low voice, a dangerous glare on his eyes. His whole demeanor changed, defensive, became tense, ready to strike.

But it didn't last long. 

He sighed, looking at Raven, resigned, and rubbed his nose. 

“I knew I was going to blow it. Sorry I-”

“Stop. I would really rather have a date that didn't look like he was going to kill me, but you haven't completely blown it.”

“I haven't?”

“I won't ask again. Next round is on me.”

He changed the conversation to herself, again. They were more comfortable that way. They found out that they were both orphans, both had a mother that had drunk herself to death. She found comfort in Finn, he following the orders of the gang. They both had been betrayed by them, scarred. But while Raven knew herself to be intelligent and resourceful, Murphy only knew he was hard to kill. Maybe it was selfish, but she enjoyed being the successful one for once. 

Raven didn't know if she liked this guy, if she knew enough to even consider it, but she was interested. He was a bit of a dick, probably more dangerous than anyone she'd ever been with. But Raven kind of wanted to know how he'd gotten there, how a bully ended up being this... okay, so nice wasn't the word, but there was something good about what he'd become. He was honest, and blunt and Raven felt a bit on edge with him, but liked the feeling. 

Murphy was conflicted. Raven was a difficult woman to read, and he felt that at any point she could put a gun in his face and give him up to his enemies in a heartbeat. Maybe this was just an elaborate ruse to hurt him, again. But Raven was defensive as he was, took no shit, as was smart and confident and an all around incredible woman. 

He walked her home and looked at her, uncertain. 

“So....”

“We'll keep in touch. I'm gonna need your sarcasm and lack of social skills at the Blake wedding.”

“Are you sure? People will look at you badly, wonder if you've lost your mind. There maybe be people who hate me. There's a lot of people who hate me in this town.”

“It will make things interesting.”

“I'm honored.”

“Of course you are.” And then as an afterthought. “Wear a suit, ok? That leather jacket looks like you wear it every day.”

“All right, I'll take it off... But it'll cost you.”

There were a lazy couple of drunken smiles and some waves. 

“See you at the wedding, Murphy.”

“I'll be counting down the days.”


	2. Chapter 2

Raven looked gorgeous, and liked it.

She like her usual grease monkey look, and it was a hell lot more comfortable than this, but she really looked great. She was wearing a red dress with a semi-transparent lace cleavage and platform red high heeled sandals. She looked like a goddess of fire, and loved it. She was waiting to meet Murphy on a park next to the town hall where the wedding was being held, so they could walk together. 

And she actually happy, for once. This was going to be a hell of a party, with lots of alcohol and dancing involved, both Octavia and Lincoln would be glowing (and those deserved all the good they got, each and every happy moment), she would see all her friends, rub on Finn's face how hot she looked and she'd been placed on a cool “friend table” with Jasper, Maya, Miller, Monty, Harper, Monroe, Murphy and herself. It had been a really good idea to get herself a date.

A date who was currently walking in her direction, more nervous than he'd like. Lincoln, the damn groom, knew people from the Grounders, the group of his former torturers and they could be there. He didn't knew if he'd be able to restrain himself. Those men held him for days and... No. Don't think about that. Think about Raven and her sad smile. She's counting on you. He was wearing a black suit with a black shirt and an undone bow tie, that hung from the shirt's neck. Black shoes, too. Not technically his, but no one needed to know that. 

“Wow.” he said upon seeing Raven. “I have died and gone to heaven.”

Raven smiled. 

“You don't look so bad yourself. What's with the bow tie?”

“I swear to you, I tried. It fought me.”

“I think it looks good like that. Let's go, Monty and Miller are waiting near the entrance.”

He did clean up nicely, even if he had a brand new stitched cut under his cheek and some painful looking bruises near the eye and on the forehead. 

“Can I ask what happened to your face?”

“Bad day at work. I told the guys who were beating me up to be careful with the face, that I had a wedding, but some people just have no respect for anything.”

Raven was curious. 

“That happen to you often? Showing up to dates looking like you've been attacked by a werewolf?”

“Yeah, I don't do dates often. I'm still wondering how this one happened. I'm looking forward to the free food and drink, don't get me wrong... But there's gonna be people.” He grimaced.

Raven threw a sympathetic look his way. 

“Murphy, you're a hardened criminal, I think you can handle Octavia's friends and family.”

He didn't seem convinced, but walked with her without further complaint. 

Everyone looked great and everyone told Raven how great she looked. She loved every minute of it. Murphy, on the other hand, felt extremely uncomfortable and out of place. All these people being nice to each other, all this happiness, it really wasn't his scene. So he just kept close to Raven, kept a low profile and tried not to be too weirded out by the whole thing. 

(And ditched the jacket in the first moment he could, undid some of the buttons of that weirdly tight shirt, ruffled his hair and pitied all the people who had to wear suits every day)

The ceremony was simple but very emotional, and Octavia and Lincoln looked beautiful and ecstatic and it was really great. It was short and sweet, and they were all quickly going to eat to the massive venue where the banquet was being held. 

And so the champagne started. There were cups and more cups, and nice music on the background. Raven was friends with the champagne. She almost didn't mind how Bellamy and Clarke were looking at her and Murphy as if she had lost her mind. Almost.

Murphy was getting some cups when Raven finally ran into Finn. He looked much less nice than in her memory. Duller, fatter, wearing a boring ass grey suit. He was with some blonde wannabe-Clarke that looked intensely bored. God, was she glad they weren't on the same table. 

“Raven, wow, you look incredible! How is everything?”

“Not bad, not bad. Work is decent, I still hang with-” Finn's blonde in a beige dress interrupted her clearing her throat. 

“Uh, sorry. This is Margaret.”

“Hi”

“So, are you here alone?” Finn asked, and Raven knew Finn was secretly hoping it was the case. Well, it wasn't. Raven smiled like she hadn't in a long time when she saw a lanky figure coming her way. 

“Actually, my date is coming right now with our drinks.”

Murphy gave a champagne cup to Raven and side-eyed Finn. 

“Murphy – Finn, Finn – Murphy.”

“Nice to meet you.” Finn said offering his hand. Murphy shook it reluctantly. 

“This the guy?” Murphy asked Raven, succintly. They both who the guy he was talking about was. 

Murphy looked at him disapprovingly and softly shook his head. 

“Shame on you.”

And just like that, he took Raven's arm, and they walked out. No more niceties, no more fake smiles, no more of that subtle bitterness. Raven fully smiled. On your face, jerk!

“Thank you for that.” It had been really nice of him. Murphy looked smug.

“Did you like it? How would grade my performance, Miss Reyes?” 

“EE. Exceeds Expectations.”

Murphy raised an eyebrow.

“Was that a Harry Potter reference?” 

“It was! I didn't think you'd get it! So, Mr. I-get-the-references, which house do you think I belong to?”

“Well, you are bold and brave and are wearing a Gryffindor red dress, but I think, you're probably more Ravenclaw, what with that cleverness, individuality and wisdom. Maybe even a descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw herself.”

“You know what a girl wants to hear. And let me guess, you're a Slytherin, so very often misunderstood as the evil house.”

“Yeah, well, one of the traits of Slytherin is self-preservation, and that's like the only skill I have.”

“Hey, you can also shame cheating bastards with one look and three little words.”

“That I can.”

They went back to the table, although Raven was almost wishing they wouldn't, enjoying the one-on-one time with her mysterious tall, and slightly mean date. But the table wasn't a bad place either, with all the food and her friends. Raven was loving it, her placing on the table was simply excellent. When she wanted to say nice good things she had Monty on one side, when she wanted to make a mean comment, share some vile, she had the very non-judgemental Murphy on the other. Was it her, or he was getting better looking with every passing hour? Maybe it was all the champagne.

And then the food was over (and god, there had been a lot of food) and the dancing began.

Octavia looked great. Lincoln looked great. And what the hell, they looked great too. Raven took off her shoes and simply danced to the ballads, barefoot, forgetting everything. Murphy was an awkward dancer, but he tried. They moved slowly and clumsily, too drunk to care. It was a sweet moment, if an unexpected one. Even if her date looked like he'd been attacked by a werewolf and she barely knew him. Even if half her friends were already gone, and she'd been getting weird looks all day. Who cared. Not her. 

But of course, all good things must come to an end. When Murphy was getting back his forgotten jacket, he found himself surrounded. Some of the member from the former gang, the one he belonged to. Fuck.

“Look who it is. If it isn't our favourite traitor.” 

Murphy felt himself tense completely.

“Not here, Connor. Not here.”

He was trying to restrain himself, fists closed, trying not to slash and punch and make them pay for what they did to him. They betrayed him first. They left him to die and now they were taunting him. But he didn't do anything, not in front of those nice people. The wedding was over, but that didn't mean he had to ruin the memories. 

“The park. I'll see you there.” He sid, knowing that he didn't go, they'd go after him. He had to end this, one way or another. 

But there was something he needed to do first. 

“Raven, I'm sorry to leave like this but -”

“You're going with them?" She said, somewhere between disappointed and angry. "What about self-preservation?”

“I have to do this... It's been a long time coming. But thank you for a wonderful day.”

He started to leave, determined. Don't look back at her. If you look back at her, everything is lost.

“So, that's it? You're willingly going to get attacked by werewolves again.”

“Have a nice life, Raven.”

No, it couldn't end like this. She refused to let it end like this. 

“Hey!”

She was barefoot and clumsy and couldn't reach him. There were too many fucking tables on the way and he was just too quick. 

“I don't even know your first name! I'm gonna have to call you idiot! Idiot Murphy!”

Even from the distance, she heard him chuckle. 

She took the name cards from the table “Raven Reyes +1” and the forgotten bow tie. 

This wasn't the end. She refused to let this be the end.


	3. Chapter 3

Raven tried to follow him, but took too long to find her shoes, her purse and try and get out. She didn't know that part of the town, it was too dark, and she was a bit too drunk, so it was no wonder that she got lost without ever getting close to the park. She was really drunk and doesn't even remember calling cab for herself, but she must at some point call for a cab, because she woke up the next morning, still in her red dress, dying a painful hangover death in her couch. She hadn't even made it to the bed. 

Her phone was ringing, and there were about a thousand unread texts. Apparently they got a job from a client they've been wanting to get for a long time, and they wanted the plane finished right about yesterday. So Raven took a quick shower, changed clothes and went to work, to try and get the thing done. 

It took like three red bulls and a bunch of pills, but she managed to get through the day and get the job done fairly well. She also managed to get three days off after, for having to come in one of her days off and having to do that in such a rush. At least, she'd be able to rest for a bit, take things slow. 

It wasn't until she was on her couch again, having some leftover Chinese when she thought of the wedding again. There were some pictures posted on instagram and facebook, and it made her think about what a great day it had been. There was even a picture of Murphy looking at her while she talked, in all his bruised scarred glory with the caption “Beauty and the beast”. She felt slightly offended that they were calling Murphy a beast, so she sent him a message on the lines of “defend yourself, son!” but there was no reply. 

The next day they sent the whole album of the wedding, and she saw that she looked great and happy and relaxed in those pictures and thought that maybe she would frame one or two of them. And her date didn't look so bad, either, so she decided that what the hell, she wanted to see Murphy again, now that she had some days off. So he wasn't answering his texts, then she would call him. If he didn't want to see her again at least she had the right to know why. But she received the this number has been disconnected message and she remembered how they said goodbye. The park. Those bullies that surrounded him. What if something bad had happened?

He called her back some hours later, surprised by her insistence. They met again three days later on the tiny bar next to the abandoned cinema, talked about the massive hangover after the wedding, how difficult going back to work had been and general I-live-alone little things. Turned out they both lived in tiny apartments, Raven having outgrown the roommate phase and Murphy never having found someone he could tolerate 24/7 (and who could tolerate him as well). He had a whole hand and forearm bandaged and some strange scratch marks on his face and neck, but Raven didn't ask. It was probably better that she didn't know.

They met several times, didn't go past the “friends who have some drinks” phase, but that was okay. Of course, John would like something more, and Raven was starting to be interested too, but there were some problems. Like his flinching every time someone, even her, got close (he was so used to anyone who got close to hurt him, it had become an instinct), the one hundred layers of secrets and practically everyone telling Raven she deserved better. That she'd end up badly if she continued being with him.

Fuck them all. She could make his own decisions, thank you very much.

And then one day he stopped answering her calls and texts for good. No reason, no warning, nothing. Raven tried to forget, tried 

She asked Bellamy if she knew anything about Murphy. Nobody had seen him or heard from him since the wedding. Fuck. He lived alone, had no family. If he was missing it could take weeks for anyone to notice he was gone. Bellamy told her to check on him if she could, and she gladly did it. She was getting kind of worried, 

No one was answering in the shitty apartment where Murphy was supposed to live, in a really bad part of the city. She knocked and called, and called and nothing. And then, when she going back home, disappointed, someone called her and it was him. 

“Murphy, finally! I was getting fucking worried!”

“Sorry, ma'am, this is the Memorial hospital administration. We picked up a John Doe a couple of days ago who had this phone with him, I assume you know him?”

A shiver ran through Raven. It was him, some of his enemies had finally got to him. But she didn't know, maybe it was one his attackers who'd ended up with his phone. 

“Is he a tall pale guy with dark hair and blue eyes?”

“Let me look at the file... Yes, he does fit with that description. Early to mid twenties, extensive scarring in arms and back. If you know who he is, do tell us so we can get a medical history and warn his family.”

“I... I don't know his first name, just know him as Murphy. Ask for officer Blake of the 9th precinct, he can tell you more.”

“All right, thank you.”

Before she hung up, she needed to know something.

“How is he?”

“He's in critical condition, in a coma. But he managed to survive the night, which is something good.”

Raven tried to get a grip of herself. Murphy was in a coma, in critical condition. Wow. She didn't think it would afftect her this much, but it did. I t kind of hurt. She shakily answered the hospital lady.

“If I went there, would you let me see him? I'm not family, but he doesn't have any.” Part of Raven didn't want to see him half dead in a hospital bed, and hoped they wouldn't let him pass.

“We let girlfriends and co-workers in too, specially for people with no next of kin.”

“Thank you.”

She did go to see him and it was heartbreaking. He'd been bandaged, cleaned and stitched up but he still looked horrible. One of his eyes was swollen shut and one of his legs was in a white cast. He looked calm, peaceful. Too white and waxy to be simply sleeping, but Bellamy appeared behind her as she took his limp hand in hers. 

“Raven, I think you were with him last. Any idea who could have done this?”

“Maybe. There was a guy called Connor, I could give you a description.”

“I know who Connor is, they go back to Murphy's first gang. I will have to have a chat with those delinquents.”

“I hope you have more than a chat.”

Bellamy seemed hesitant. 

“Raven, I know you may think he's an interesting guy... but be careful, ok? If you're going to get close to him, you should know this kind of thing will happen. A lot. I've known Murphy for about three years and he's been beaten close to death more times than I can count. In fact, it's rare to see Murphy uninjured. He's all scar tissue. You can still run away, because getting attached to Murphy means a lot of suffering. And I don't want to see you hurt.”

Raven didn't need to be hurt anymore, not after everything she'd been through. But she didn't want to stay away.

“I just wanted to give him his bow tie back.”

She'd been carrying that stupid piece of cloth with her since the wedding. Damn it, Raven, it's not like you to be so terribly sappy.

“Of course.” Bellamy said, not questioning it. Maybe this was a good thing, maybe they'd help each other, understand each other in a way he never could. With either of them.

“But thanks for the heads up.” Raven sighed, rubbing circles on Murphy's cold hand. 

“I hope he makes it.” 

“I hope so too.” 

Raven said, wondering what the hell she'd got herself into as she heard the various noises on the hospital room. 

Well, it's too late to go back now.

Too fucking late.

**Author's Note:**

> Murven again because I like it. 
> 
> Feedback gives me life and is much appreciated! If you enjoyed it, please say so ^^


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